HOME WITH SAMUEL

I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted. November has been a whirlwind of a month. It started with my dad getting in a bicycle accident and ending up in Grady Hospital for about 2 weeks. He has head, ribs, and other body injury. He is at home recovering, while my mom is running their dry cleaners. My sister-in-law and brother and taking care of all the medical paperwork and staying home with him when they can. We are having trouble with getting the VA to take over his treatments and cover the costs. Pray for all that to get worked out and for endurance for my family.

Then, we decided to bite the bullet and take another step of faith. We bought a small SUV for transporting Samuel. The minute we got home, we heard a message on our answering machine saying that our baby was ready for travel. What timing!

So, we got the first flight we could out there and back. We were in Korea for 3 1/2 days because we wanted to get Samuel home. We can't take him with us until the day before or the day of travel. Thankfully, we had a morning flight. We got to take him to my aunt's house the day before travel.

South Korea was awesome. Their rest stops are like strip malls, the service in malls and restaurants are top notch, there is always someone waiting to help you with a smile. We got to walk around the town where my mom and dad met and lived when I was a baby. We almost got lost, but ran into my aunt's mother-in-law and she pointed us back home. It was perfect timing.

Needless to say, the food was delicious. It was actually so hot/spicy, that it brought tears to Joe's eyes.

It was great to spend time with my aunt and her family too. I remember as little girl, thinking she was so beautiful and wanting to be like her. She got to be the first family member to meet Samuel.

Coming back home was crazy. Because we booked our flight last minute, we couldn't sit near each other and no one offered to switch places. Joe was so far away that he couldn't even hear or see us. Praise God, we made it without any serious damage. LOL

We were greeted by a welcoming committee. Here is a video our friend Jen made of it:

http://gallery.me.com/jenniferstyle/100082

Now, we are home trying to get into a routine. It took several days for Samuel to realize that night was not day anymore. Korea has a 14 hour difference. He is mostly sleeping through the night now and we are working on his napping. He is napping right now. Shhhh. . .

We LOVE our baby Samuel!!! He is so funny, curious, energetic, and adorable. He loves people, but knows who his mommy and daddy are. He looks at us periodically to make sure we are near by. When he is tired and cranky, he wants mommy or daddy. I LOVE IT!!!!

I am learning to get up EARLY and have my quiet time before he gets up. It makes for a happier day for both of us. Joe is an awesome daddy! He had to go back to work this week, but has requested evening duty. So, he feeds, bathes, and gets Samuel down for the night. It is precious.

Since we have had Samuel, he has already learned how to crawl, eat bite-sized snacks by opening his hands enough to shove it in his mouth (he LOVES to eat), and stand up in his crib. He is getting stronger every day. Just this morning, he was observing his hand movements as they opened and closed. It is such a joy to be able to watch those moments. I need to keep the video camera next to me to capture them.

If you want to see pictures or get faster updates, befriend me on FB if you have not already.

Approval Coming Soon?

I was driving down to McDonough on Friday and had a conviction to call about the
paperwork again. Joe and I discussed earlier that morning not to call, but the
conviction was strong. So, I called Joe and told him. I asked Joe to call since
he was home and I was driving. After some convincing that we don't need to wait
until later in the day he called. He was home because he was getting ready to
leave for a men's retreat at noon and it was around 11am. So, he called and
found out that we were assigned an officer. She said that she had just gotten
the paperwork and went through it on the phone with Joe. She noticed a form was
missing. Praise God that Joe was home to find it and fax it. God was using
that time to make me see that I don't have to have control because Joe couldn't
find it at first and had to leave soon. I couldn't find it because I wasn't at
home. I just had to pray that God would show Joe where it was. Finally, Joe
did find it and faxed it out to the officer. I called her and she got it. She
said that it should be approved this week some time!!!!

Korean Festival

We had such a great time at the Korean Festival. I haven't been to one since I was a young girl. My mom showed us how to play all of these games. It was fun watching her do them too.









This is a version of hackey sack. It is harder because under all that stringy stuff is a plastic weight. So, it is hard to see where the center of the weight is going to hit.












This is a Korean board-game. There are 4 people on 2 teams. The big silver things are like dice, only all four people on a team flip them at once. The way they land, tells you how many places to move your piece on the board.


This is sort of a mix between see-saw and trampoline. You take turns jumping and propelling your partner higher into the air. It is a great work-out too.








This is how they used to make rice cake.




My mom is getting ready to arm-wrestle. Yeah!








This is sort of like a bean bag toss. Only you have these arrow-looking things and you try to get them inside the jar or one of the hoops. Abby rocked at this one!














We told the boys to "Go fly a kite". . . and they did. (Sorry, my corniness just came out.)

They actually flew them for a long time.
One was even made like the traditional Korean kites.



This is a game sort of like jacks. My mom can throw all 5 pieces in the air, catch them on the back of her hand, flick them in the air and then catch them inside her hand. She does is so fast too.
We were all amazed.




There was so much more to do, but it was sooo hot. There were jumpy things for the kids, demonstrations and mini-parades with traditional dancers, drummers, and dressed royalty. You could even dress up in traditional Korean wedding clothes for pictures. Unlike American festivals, most of the activities are free and your prize was food. Now, that is my kind of prize!

I don't know why I don't have pictures of those things. I must have gotten tired of pulling out the camera.
All in all, it was a great day. I look forward to bringing our baby to these in years to come!

Wounds

I got this nasty burn on my arm over a week ago. I was baking something on a cookie dish and hastily took it out. When I did, it seared my arm. Not but a little while later, I did the same thing and seared my other arm. The second one wasn't as bad and was near my wrist.

The first wound is definitely taking much longer to heal and not look so gross. It is bigger, but is also located just above the inside of my elbow. So, every time I pull my arms in, the air is blocked from touching the wound, thus causing it to get sticky and gooey. YUCK! The smaller one gets plenty of air and has almost healed itself, yet there is definitely going to be a scar.

Emotional and spiritual wounds are like physical wounds. The more we try to cover it up, the less it really heals. The more we close our arms rather than reaching out to God for healing, the grosser it gets. When we open our arms and let His "air" breathe on us, the better it heals. There still may be a scar, but hopefully, we can use those scars as reminders to not be so hasty and that God heals all wounds.

BTW- I am learning to sleep with my arms open. ; )

Triathlon

I still have a few more pictures to get and upload, but I couldn't wait to share what I have already. : )

There were 8 students that I have taught in the triathlon. One was the sibling of one of my students, but I worked with him in an after-school program. There was one family that I don't know who also joined the cause. Awesome!

This was a BIG deal. I was surprised to see how many children were there and how serious some of them and their parents were. Some kids had very expensive bikes and the parents were "coaching" them like it was the Olympics.

This was the first triathlon for all of the students I knew, and they LOVED IT!!!

They raced by ages; oldest to the youngest.

First, they swam.
(There were different distances for each age group.)



Then, they rushed to their bikes.










Lastly, was the running.
Most of it seemed like it was uphill.













To the FINISH line!








They were tired, but excited about their accomplishment.

Some of them wanted to do it again.

I am so proud of all of them!!!



Here is a link to a video one of the parents made of the event. It is wonderful!
http://gallery.me.com/jenniferstyle#100062/IronKid

Happy watching!

clogging the mind

Lately, I have not been able to enjoy my beloved patio to have my quiet times. After I prayed and received this blessing, not but a few weeks later did my neighborhood start building more houses. It is hard to concentrate with banging of nails and cement trucks. . .

So, this morning I decided to beat the construction workers. I got my coffee, my bible and journal, and rushed out to the patio. I sit down, and what do I hear? The garbage truck.

That got me thinking about distraction. It is interesting how I can multitask in the classroom so easily with my students. Students can be behind me and I can tell who and what they are doing while helping another student. It is actually a bit amusing when I call out the student behind me. They are shocked. I guess that is why they say teachers have eyes in the back of our heads. I guess it is sort of a 6th sense??

But when I sit down to have my quiet time, read, or write, I can't concentrate. I think about things I need to do during the day, questions I need to ask or answer others, noises or words around me.

I was watching Dr. Oz yesterday and he was talking about how "bad" foods clutter your arteries. It makes you feel tired and yucky, but we can get so used to it that it is not as noticeable. So, what does that have to do with quiet time? I feel like I ingest so much of the "world"; thoughts, sounds, words. . . that it begins to clutter my mind. After a while, I get numb to the fact that my mind is not very clear. I need "good food" to help cleanse my mind and unclog it.

When I sit on the patio, the sounds of the birds is one "good food" for me. It reminds me of how creative God is. The calls of the birds sound different, they are different shapes and sizes, yet they are still birds. The sky is another "good food". Watching the changing colors, the clouds slowly move and change shape. It is awing. My creator is peaceful and can do so much more than I can imagine.

Once, I get some of that "good food", I can more easily transition to reading or writing more "good food". By the end of my meal, I can tell that my mind is more at ease and clear.

If it is so good for me/us, then why don't we do it more often? Well, I love food and wonder the same about my diet. I have been praying and asking God to help me with my regular diet (food). I have lost maybe 20 pounds in the last 6 months. I say it is because I am so excited, but I know deep down that God helped to curb my appetite and give me motivation to eat better food. If God can help me with my body, I know he would LOVE to help me with my mind. The mind is connected to the heart, and the heart is God's target.

Thank you God for being the Drano of my mind and heart.

Baby Samuel (Jihoon) is 6 months old today

It feels a little frustrating not being with him, but we know that God is watching over him. It is also comforting knowing that he seems to be in a loving foster home. We are writing a letter and sending pictures to them soon.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO BRING HIM HOME!!!!

Our First Fundraiser

Our weekend started off with a nice dessert time with the McNatts. They just adopted a baby from China and were wonderful to meet with us and give us some insight. We are all so excited about what God is teaching us and others through this process. It is so nice to have others around that can empathize with all of this. There are thoughts and emotions that you just can't describe.

Then on Saturday, we went to our first fundraiser. My mom and sister were able to come. It was truly exciting to have them meet so many of my close friends and vice-versa.

















Allison was the Tupperware Consultant and is a great friend of mine. She is donating all proceeds to the adoption. She has been such an encourager!





Jen is the one that helped us get started. God has used her and her family in such a powerful way for us. She also planned a surprise shower for us. So she gave our first baby shower ever!!!


There were so many others that were able to come and many who made orders online. She raised close to $500 for the adoption fund! WOW!!!

We went to Saturday night service because we knew that Sunday would be busy.
(More to come once we get more pictures.)

Samuel's Storybook

With the help of one of my crafty friends, I made the cover for Samuel's Story book. It is up to you to fill in the pages.

I am asking all of those who partnered/are partnering in anyway to do a page
for Samuel.

1- Just take a regular or decorated sheet of computer paper,
2- put you/your family picture on it,
3- and write a letter to Samuel (handwritten or typed) sharing your part in
his story. Please include how you came to partnering in this adventure as
well.
If you have children that prayed and participated in fund raising, I would
love to hear what they have to say also. I have heard so many people say
that they or their children are and have been praying for baby DeGuido for
years. Some have been woken up at night to pray, and some have been given a
word of peace or encouragement from God about this process. We have several
items that have been donated, and many have donated in other ways.

You can send it, put it in my or Joe's mailbox at Perimeter, or hand it to
me anytime. If you want to wait, that is fine too. You can always update
as the time goes on.

We can't make a baby book of his birth, but we can show him how much he was
already loved even before we met him. I also want him to see how the body
of Christ rallied together to bring him to his God-given home.

I am very excited about this weekend. We have the Tupperware Fundraiser tomorrow and the kids are doing the triathlon on Sunday. I will post pictures as soon as I have time.

Delight

A friend of mine, with my same name, gave me one of those bookmarks with your name, it's meaning and a verse. Kim means "from the Royal Meadow" and the verse is "Delight yourself in the Lord; and he shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

You know how you can understand and believe something, but then grasp a greater understanding of it later. Usually it is an experience or event that sort of "open your eyes" to see it more clearly. Well, that is what this adoption process is doing for me in MANY areas. I see more of my sin, more of God's grace, and more of Him.

Believe it or not, I have always been quite insecure. I still feel myself get nervous even in a small group of adults when they are all looking at me and listening to me. I don't know how to take compliments and get embarrassed by them. Most of the time, I have been the side-kick friend or the one that has many friends but not really a core group. I have learned how to be open without being vulnerable. There have been seasons in my life when I have found courage to be free of what others think of me, to an extent, and let my "go get em" part come out in social arenas, which embarrassed me even more than sitting back and watching.

In the past 6 years, God has slowly been releasing me of different insecurities. I found acceptance in Him and have been called to do things that others close to me did not agree with. I've experienced persecution, which was very hard, but God walked with me through it. Then, he put an individual in my life that has been very hurtful and judgmental. I would cry when I knew I had to see that person because I didn't know if this person was in a good mood or not. If this person was, things could be very nice. If not, things were very uncomfortable. Over the years, I still get nervous and pray, but I am over letting another person's judgment or mood effect me so much.

Needless to say, I have not experienced the love and acceptance from others like I have recently. Now, my family loves both Joe and I unconditionally. It just took me years of making horrible mistakes for me to realize it. But as far as those outside of my family, and a few others, I don't generally get too close. I have learned to have low expectations so that I am not disappointed.

The same holds true with God. I know that He loves and accepts me, but my expectations are low. I can easily believe that He will work miracles in others lives, but don't believe that He wants to do it for me. Maybe because I lost my grandmother to cancer after praying and believing she would be healed, or after Him letting me go through a divorce or the other many disappointing and hurtful things that I have been through. I have kind of viewed my life more like Isaiah's. I go through trials and tribulations to glorify God by my clinging to Him. He always carries me through the storms and definitely works on my character through it. I come out of things feeling closer to Him and although not wanting more trials, thankful for them.

But this time things are different. God's is pouring out blessings upon blessings, miracles after miracles. He is showering me with His love and using His people to love on me like never before. I don't know how to handle it. Before we even started this process people came up to us and offered us financial support to adopt. One even sent us a check. God put different people in our lives to make it clear that this is the direction He is taking us. We have had so many people praying for us, including precious children. Every step of the way, God has either given us favor in people's mind to open doors or had others provide for things we have needed. This weekend, a family offered frequent flier miles to get Joe and I to Korea and back. Someone else brought up the idea and they responded. Even now, we are preparing for baby showers, writing "Thank you" letters, and seeing others get just as excited as we are. WOW! I really mean WOW! We are having to sit back and let God drive. This is so new to me. I'm used to doing things without major help from others. I'm not used to people giving so generously to me. I asked my principal this week, "How should I respond?" I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that words can not express it.

I went to something called "Coffee Talk" this week at my church. I only went because someone invited me. Ginny Owens was the speaker and she played a song that has helped me through many trials. The chorus says, "I will walk through the fire, if you want me to." It reminded me of all that God has brought me through. Then she played a song, "Call Me Beautiful", and I could hear God speaking to my heart, "I love you so much." It was like an "Aha!" moment. All of these blessings is not because of my works, and I shouldn't beat myself up when I fall short. No, all of this is because He loves me despite my damnable good deeds (which I knew to an extent, but I somehow understand it more). I don't deserve it, which makes me want to love Him more. I can see His love and true character even more clearly, so that I can delight even more in Him. Every prayer, encouragement, gift, and blessing, just points me to Him in thanksgiving. All of this is not just so that my dream of being a mother can be fulfilled. It is so much greater than that and me.

My prayer is that all of this will help you to see His love for you more clearly and for you to truly trust in His faithfulness. When you are adopted by God, you benefit from being a child of the king of kings. Wow! What a true honor and blessing.

With God, All Things Are Possible

If you would have told me a year ago that we would be where we are now, I would have told you that there is no way we could afford or do it. I would have been right. Thankfully, it is not us that has done it. It has been orchestrated by God working in and around us and the body of Christ. At our church, we are challenged to attempt something so great that it be doomed to fail unless God be in it. Well, this must be it for us! So far, God has provided the cost, the connections, the favor in letting the agency let us begin even though we didn't have enough raised for their fees alone and the favor in how quickly this process has happened for us. God is faithful! Now, we did have the call to step out when we did. So, don't just jump and assume it is His will. : )

So, OUR LITTLE BOY is precious! His current name is Jihoon, which means wisdom and contributor. We plan on keeping that as his Korean name, and naming him Samuel Joseph. He just looks like a Samuel to us. The meaning fits perfectly too. According to his records, his health is "grossly normal" and he is developmentally on track. He is not shy and is a good babbler. I love how they say that, "He is a naughty baby who likes to play with his foster family." He seems to be well-taken care of by them. They had a lot of sweet things to say.

Depending on how quickly this next phase of paperwork goes through, we could travel as early as late November? But then it could also take several months longer. At this point, it is still sinking in that my prayers have been answered. I finally have a baby!!! Joe is already the proud father who carries his picture with him all day, showing it off. He has been so helpful with this last leg of paperwork too. I am paper-worked-out, so he took over.

The next leg is getting everything ready for Samuel, traveling to Korea, and making decisions about what to do when we get him. I have been very nervous about the last part because my income is needed. We have a little extra to go out to eat occasionally and pay for unexpected things. We have already cut out as much as possible. So, to think about not continuing to work at my current job is scary. I don't know what will be decided or how things will work out, but they always do. God has been getting me ready this summer for this time. I read about several missionaries and their stories of God's provision and protection. It never seems to be the way I plan it out, but it ends up being better. So, we will focus on today and let God work out our tomorrow.

On an end note, I wanted to share something else I noticed while reading Samuel's information. Do you remember me telling you on an earlier post how God had kept me awake one night and called me to pray for the protection of my baby and his birth mother's wisdom? If not, go back and read it. Well, his paperwork states that his birth mother worried about what to do with her baby while she was pregnant because she was poor and the birth father had cut off contact. She agonized about what to do. Well, my prayer was Feb. 20th and Samuel was born March 13th. God knew that she needed prayer and let me be one of those to pray for her. How awesome is that?!

I have had a lot of new people reading the blog lately and they have asked how they can help. If you are one of them, our support letter was posted on June 2nd. Basically, we are working with Promise686, we do have a prayer team that gets updates and prayer requests, and we are taking hand-me-downs at this time, anything from diapers never used to furniture. We have a crib and a glider so far. Oh, and the Tupperware Fundraiser is posted as well.

Unfortunately, we can't post pictures of Samuel until he is legally ours, which could be a year from now. After we get him from Korea, we still have home study visits for up to 6 months and then we adopt here in the states. So, our journey is far from over. But it is a wonderful journey! Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us so far. : ) And PRAISE GOD!!!

Referral!

We said at one time that we wouldn't announce a referral until we knew we were going to accept it. But, we are too excited to wait! We got the call today!
We go through the packet with our Home Study social worker Monday after work. UGH! I hope I can sleep and concentrate on the first day of school Monday. I'm sure I'll have so much to think about with that. At least it will be a good distraction.
I met some of my new students and their parents today. Every single one of them were adorable! I look forward to getting to know them this year.
I also got to see some of my former students. My how they grow so fast! Some are just about taller than me and this is only my fourth year at this school. One of the parents told me that 2 of her children (both my former students) have decided to do a triathlon and use the money raised for our adoption. I was so touched I had to hold back tears. They have even gotten some of my others students to do the same. I am so blessed with such wonderful children in my life. Their parents are just as wonderful. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. : )
I can't wait to make a book of all of these stories for our baby and show how the body of Christ, young and old, were used by God to bring him into our lives.
I say him, because this referral is a boy, and he was born in March. I have so many family members born in March, including myself. I'm nervous to get too excited, because a referral does not guarantee it is our baby. After we go through the paperwork, we send off or go to a pediatrician to break down whatever medical issue he has and tell us the long-term effects. If it is a costly issue, we will have to pass up the referral so that he can go to a family that can better help him. These parents give up their children so that they can be better-cared for. It would be selfish of me to take on someone that I can't care for as well as another family. We are praying that it will not be an issue. Joe is pretty confident that we will not have to pass him up.
So, we will see. Pray for us to have wisdom and discernment, patience, and peace. There are so many decisions to make and more paperwork to do once we accept a referral.

Tupperware Fundraiser

You've received an Evite invitation. Click here to RSVP!

Here is information about our first fundraiser.

We are so excited about this opportunity. Allison is a friend of mine. She lived near me when we were in high school and we didn't even know each other until her husband started working at our church, where Joe and I both work. Since then, we have been instant friends and in the same discipleship group. I am honored and thankful for this blessing that she is offering. We are also excited about being able to get some Tupperware items for our baby with the extra points.

If you can not come to the Tupperware party, you can still order from Allison. The directions are in the Evite.

Joe is excited too. He is already wanting to plan out our snacks and things. I told him that he needs to get the baby room ready for everyone to see it. LOL

Keep praying not only for our fund-raising, but also for God to work it all out according to His glory. It is Him doing all of this and we are amazed. Also pray for our baby and his/her mom. Selfishly, I pray for her health, but I also pray for her heart. I know it can't be easy giving up life that grew inside of you for 9 months. We are so grateful for the opportunity she is giving this child and for us to be able to be a part of. We are trying to be patient and will definitely let you know when we get information on our baby.

Until then, we wait, we pray, and we worship.